Raised Leaf Stitch Tutorial
The raised leaf stitch has a fluffy appearance, and it’s one you will commonly see in stumpwork embroidery. I just recently learned how to make this stitch, and it’s one I will definitely be using more often. It takes a couple of tries to get the hang of it but once you do, I think you’ll really enjoy stitching with it!
How To Do The Raised Leaf Stitch
You’ll need a heavy piece of card stock for this stitch along with the usual embroidery supplies. Also, I think this stitch looks best when you use stranded embroidery floss or crewel wool.

- Cut a small strip of card stock that’s about 1/4 -1/3 of an inch wide.

2. Place the paper with the edge on top of the fabric where you want to stitch.

3. Begin by making a stitch over top of the strip of paper. Make sure that the stitches are very close to one another on either side of the paper.

4. Work from bottom to top, making about 4-6 stitches along the paper.

5. Bring your needle and thread up at the base of stitches and place the working thread through the stitches that are wrapped around the paper.

6. Remove the paper.

7. Gently pull the working thread down. You may need to carefully fluff the stitches a little bit to get them to lay neatly.

8. Bring the working thread back down through the fabric to secure the stitch.
Pretty neat, right? You can experiment with different amounts of thread and the quantity of stitches you make to play around with the look and shape of the leaf.
If you enjoyed this tutorial and you’re ready to learn more, I suggest you check out this post for 9 other ways to embroider leaves or this stumpwork tutorial for making wirework leaves.

Amanda is a hand embroidery teacher and artist. With over 15 years of experience in the craft industry and embroidery, she owns and runs Crewel Ghoul, sharing accessible tutorials and patterns to help inspire fellow crafters to get creative. In addition to running this website, she teaches on Skillshare and Youtube.